Toshiba vs Gateway laptop choice

[beyer2]

I have been researching laptops looking for one that is reasonably priced (under $700), reliable, responsive and nicely equipped.
I had pretty much decided on the Toshiba A505-S6960 (at Best Buy) when Gateway suddenly came out with their NV series.
Based on Specs the Gateway NV5814u (CompUSA/TigerDirect) looks very comperable to the Toshiba.
The Toshiba looks like it has a much better battery life and is expandable to 8G vs the 4G max for the Gateway and the
Toshiba is said to have far superior speakers.
Other aspects look very similar between the two: 4G, 320 Hard Drive, built in Webcam, HDMI, etc
The cost difference is, $579 for the Gateway vs $679 for the Toshiba. I have read glowing reviews for the Toshiba but
have not found much on the Gateway. I did see that Best Buy has a similar model Gateway NV5214u for $499 that runs on the AMD
processor but I have been leaning towards the Microsoft processor based on reviews I have read regarding performance difference.
I am not a gamer but I would be viewing videos (CD's and web browser based). I will also be looking at setting up a wireless router.

Any thoughts/opinions? Is it worth going with the Toshiba in spite of the higher cost?

Edited to add product links:

http/www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9371547&type=product&id=1218093383198

http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4830691&CatId=2289

http/www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9370441&st=nv5214u&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218093004316

 

[mswezey]

Hello,
I am currently on the Toshiba S505A: the one from Best Buy, and I must say this laptop is very impressive for power/price. I unintalled the facial reconiziation because I rather just type a password in and it makes the boot time way faster. After that this laptop zooms! Sound quality is amazing! Not those laptops where you can't hear a dvd playing in a quite room, but i can play a dvd ( or mp3, ect..) and turn it up 3/4 of the way while my roommate has his TV on loud and still hear it quite well. In my opinion Toshiba's laptop is perfect for the price. Wireless is awesome a/b/n modes and the battery life is incredible ( 7+ hrs while on eco mode, but thats if you get it with the 12 cell battery like I did) Loads internet explorer fast ( upgrade to 8 if it doesn't have it yet, 7 crashes a lot).

I could go on and on. Hope this Helps!

 

[buwish]

On my experience, Toshiba laptops seem to last longer and tend to be more reliable in terms of the hardware involved.